


Red

by dragon_scars



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-04-21 05:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4816790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_scars/pseuds/dragon_scars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>i would like to apologize in advance for this just sayin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

That wasn't how he was supposed to react. The unsub wasn't supposed to go out like that. All signs pointed to him giving himself up. Suffice to say, that wasn't how it went. 

Instead, he came out, weapon raised. Rossi barely saw it before he heard the shot. 

He fired back immediately, one shot and he was down. The gun clattered, falling to the floor. He knew he was supposed to kick it away, to make sure he was dead or at least didn't have a second weapon, but he wasn't focused on protocol. 

Reid had been covering him. There shouldn't have been a way for the Unsub to shoot past Rossi, but he somehow managed. Spencer would have the statistics on how improbable that was, but he was preoccupied at the moment. 

The bullet had hit him in the neck, and everything was red. He died instantly. Rossi knew he should be glad that at least he didn't have to suffer, but how could he think like that? it was Spencer.

 

He didn't hear the door open, didn't even know anyone else was in the room until Hotch and Derek were walking in. 

"Reid? Reid!"

Morgan was on his knees, pushing past Rossi immediately. "Spencer, you gotta get up. Reid, you need to get up. I need you to get up." He said, shaking Spencer by the shoulders.

"Derek..." Hotch said softly. It was obvious that he, too, was fighting back tears, that he felt like breaking down just like Derek, but he was the rock. He had to be strong for the team. 

"Spencer, I need you to get up now." He said, ignoring Hotch entirely. "Please." his voice cracked as he said it, as he begged Spencer to get up even though it was obvious he couldn't, he was already gone.

His hands were covered in Reid's blood. it was everywhere, all over his shirt, arms, everything. 

"Morgan, come on." Hotch said, helping him up and then walking him out the door.

The first thing Hotch thought was how glad he was that JJ had called in sick that day, that she didn't have to see Spencer like that. She wouldn't be able to take that, hearing about his death would destroy her enough already.

How would he tell her?

~~~

The drive back was completely silent. Neither Derek nor hotch spoke the entire ride. Thank god that it was a local unsub and they didn't need to fly back, the silence would kill him.

~~~

When Derek walked in, he made a beeline for Penelope's office.

"Hey, sexy." Penelope said, spinning around in her chair. Her eyes widened when she noticed the blood. 

"please tell me thats tomato juice." she said, staring at the stains. 

"Spencer, Garcia. He got Spencer."

She was out of her chair and into his arms instantly. He welcomed the hug immediately, burying his face into her hair. The dam finally broke, and the tears came flooding out.

"He's gone. Spencer's gone." Derek said through tears. She couldn't even reply, she was crying too hard. 

In all the years she'd known him, Garcia couldn't remember seeing him cry, much less sob. 

"He's actually gone."

There was nothing she could say, just like there was nothing Morgan could have done. That didn't stop either from blaming themselves. 

~~~

Hotch couldn't tell JJ. He couldn't do it. Tearing Morgan away from the body- from Spencer's body- had destroyed him enough. Besides, there was only one person who could soften the blow even slightly. 

"I'm sorry for making you do this, I didn't know who else to call."

Emily nodded. Her face was emotionless, strong. it was what she did best, after all. But still, he could see how puffy her eyes were. He knew she had been crying. he had been, too.

"I understand. Where is she?" She asked, looking around. 

"She called in sick yesterday, but she should be better by now. She'll be here any minute."

~~~

When JJ saw Emily, a huge grin broke out onto her face. She ran over, hugging her immediately. "Emily! What are you doing here?" 

She froze. What could she say? What could she possibly tell JJ she was there for? 

"JJ, do you want to go get coffee with me?" Emily asked. 

"um, sure Em. Is everything okay?"

When she didn't answer, JJ didn't bother to ask again, instead asking gently "what happened?"

That voice, Emily knew it. It was the voice that JJ used when someone got dumped, or when their dog died. It was her pitying voice. 

JJ thought Emily had lost someone, that she needed to talk. Not that she needed to tell her about her own loss.

Emily couldn't reply, there was no way she could lie convincingly. Instead she just looked at Hotch, begging him to help her. He gave her a similar look, saying they were both equally helpless in this situation.

JJ looked around the bullpen, piecing together something had happened. 

"where's Spencer?" She asked, her eyes widening. "Emily, Hotch, where's Spence?" Her voice was manic, her eyes were wild. She looked terrified. She already knew what happened. She was fearing the worst, and it was their job to confirm it.

"Yesterday, he... the unsub... I'm so sorry." Emily said. 

JJ didn't reply, just looked over at Emily pleadingly. "No." She said, begging it to not be true. But it was.

~~~

The turnout at the funeral was shocking. There were faces that the team recognized from cases they'd worked nearly a decade before, victims that Spence had saved. Because of him, they were alive. They had looked death in the eyes and survived, but Spencer didn't get to. That didn't seem fair. 

JJ had only made it halfway through the service before she had to leave, tears streaming down her face. Emily had followed in suit, comforting her as she cried, begging Emily to tell her that it wasn't real, that Spencer was alive and that wasn't him in the casket. There was nothing she could possibly say, nothing she could do. Spence was gone. 

Spencer Reid was dead, and that wasn't how it supposed to go.


End file.
